1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to beverage cooling/warming devices and more specifically it relates to a beverage temperature control system for a vehicle for maintaining a desirable temperature of a beverage within a container while traveling.
Many individuals while traveling within a vehicle will bring beverages along with them for consumption while traveling. To avoid having the beverages becoming warm, the user must bring a cooler filled with ice along to avoid the beverage becoming similar in temperature as the interior of the vehicle. This can be extremely messy and cumbersome to have a sizable cooler filled with ice that eventually melts within the confined area of a vehicle. If the beverage is originally warm, it is desirable to maintain the temperature within the beverage for allowing extended period of time for consumption. Hence, there is a need for a heating/cooling system within a vehicle for maintaining a desirable temperature within the beverage container over extended periods of time while traveling.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Beverage cooling and heating devices have been in use for years. Typically, a container known as a "cooler" is filled with ice for maintaining a desired temperature within and the beverages are then added to within the cooler where the beverages slowly assume the temperature of the ice and water that results there from. Coolers are useful for their designed purpose, however for use within a vehicle while traveling conventional coolers consume a significant amount of space within the interior of the vehicle.
Examples of attempted modifications to convention beverage cooling devices include U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,843 to Chandler; U.S. Pat. No. 342,192 to Yu; U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,587 to Israel; U.S. Pat. No. 373,935 to Cole et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 363,646 to Wong; U.S. Pat. No. 342,871 to Stern et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 342,869 to Fry; U.S. Pat. No. 338,138 to Miyajima; U.S. Pat. No. 305,966 to DeMars; U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,124 to Wang which are all illustrative of such prior art.
Chandler (U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,843) discloses a beverage holder for attachment to a vehicle heating and cooling vents. Chandler teaches a U-shaped jacket having a curved front portion, an open back portion, and a top opening for receiving a conventional beverage container. Chandler further teaches a pair of hooks for demountably securing the holder to the louvers of the air conditioning and heating unit of the automobile.
Yu (U.S. Pat. No. 342,192) discloses a design patent for a temperature sustaining cup holder for use in vehicles. Yu teaches a lower ring, an upper ring, a wire mesh between the rings forming a tubular structure, a floor, and a pair of hooks extending from the wire mesh for attaching to a vent of a vehicle.
Israel (U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,587) discloses a device for cooling drink bottles and cans within the vehicle. Israel teaches a holding device for positioning a beverage container adjacent an air conditioning outlet within the vehicle to obtain a cooling effect.
While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for maintaining a desirable temperature of a beverage within a container while traveling. Conventional cooling/heating devices are generally not suitable for use while traveling because of the amount of space they consume within the vehicle. In addition, previous attempts to solve this problem provide short-term remedies that are not suitable for long-term usage.
In these respects, the beverage temperature control system for a vehicle according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of maintaining a desirable temperature of a beverage within a container while traveling.